


Jotaro Kujo and the Philosopher's Stone

by EschaWrites



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, ジョジョの奇妙な冒険 | JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken | JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
Genre: Crossover, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-28
Updated: 2020-06-29
Packaged: 2021-02-24 20:21:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 16,018
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22003927
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EschaWrites/pseuds/EschaWrites
Summary: Harry Potter is on his way to Hogwarts School of Withcraft and Wizardry having learned the truth of his magical parents. But he's not the only boy new to this world on the train. Another unfortunate child of destiny believes himself possessed by an evil spirit, and has locked himself away. Might there be more to Harry's destiny than the wizarding world thinks?This is a crossover work wondering what would have happened if Jotaro Kujo went to Hogwarts with Harry and his friends, and how events might have turned out differently.
Comments: 14
Kudos: 35





	1. JOURNEY WITH THE BOY POSSESSED BY AN EVIL SPIRIT

Harry Potter, the boy who had lived, was looking at Ron opposite him eagerly, his eyes wide beneath the lightning-shaped scar on his forehead. Battered wand in hand, trying to keep it steady as the carriage rocked, causing the tip of unicorn’s hair that was stick out of the end to flutter every so slightly, Ron pointed it at his rat, Scabbers. To Harry, having grown up outside of this wizarding world, even the promise of turning a rodent yellow seemed like the most extraordinary thing in the world.

Ron cleared his throat.

The carriage door slid open with a loud thwump as it bounced back on its rail. The shy looking boy who’d asked them about his missing toad earlier was stood there, peering out behind a girl whose hand was still on the door. Already in her Hogwarts robes, she looked a little bit like a young version of the actress Emma Watson, with messier hair and slightly larger teeth. Allowing only the briefest pause for Harry and Ron to turn to look at their entrance, she launched into a question.

“Has anyone seen Neville’s toad? He’s lost one. There’s a boy whose locked himself in a carriage further down and-- oh--” Her gaze rested on Ron’s wand, only just taking it in. Her question, stifled from having had to repeat it all the way down the train, wobbled. Her attention was caught. Her mouth turned into a toothy grin. “You’re doing magic? Let’s have a look, then.”

“Er,” began Ron, his confidence clearly becoming as battered as his wand thanks to the unexpected audience. He cleared his throat again, making more of a show of it this time, and said quite quickly: "Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow, turn this stupid, fat rat yellow."

A few aching seconds passed, and Ron pursed his lips together.

“I’m not sure that’s a real spell,” said the girl. “Though I’ve only tried a few simple ones myself, but I’ve managed to get them going. There’s no other magic in my family -- not that I know of anyway -- so it’s all been a bit of a surprise so far. Of course, I’ve already read all the coursebooks cover to cover, so I can’t wait to learn more. Oh, my name is Hermione Granger, I should have said. And this boy here is Neville Longbottom,” she nodded towards the shy toadless boy who was still hovering near the open carriage door. “Who are you two?”

“Ron Weasley,” Ron grumbled, still reeling from the failure of the spell.

“Harry Potter,” said Harry, brushing his fringe to the side a little bit to show the scar that infamously marked him as connected to the dark lord Voldemort, who most in the wizarding world it seemed couldn’t bring themselves to refer to by name.

“Ah, the scar,” said Hermione. “I’ve heard all about you -- well, read all about you -- in some of the more recent history textbooks. I wonder what house you’ll end up in? I can’t wait to hear which I’ll be sorted into. I’m not sure which I’d rather… And I’ve read about them all.” She stood up. “Well, we should get back to looking for Neville’s toad. The last carriage left is the one that other new student has apparently locked himself into. I’m not sure what the school staff on the train are going to do about it, and I hate to think what would have happened to his toad if it got into there…”

“What would be the problem with a toad being in his carriage?” asked Harry.

“Well, some of the older students already went to try and sort him out, and they came crawling back injured. It’s only pure luck that Madame Pomphrey, the school’s nurse, is also on the train, along with some other teachers, or they would have had to wait for the rest of the train to get proper medical attention.”

Harry leant forwards, his curiosity piqued. “A first year… No… a student who isn’t even yet at the school… could do something like that?”

“Well, if you’re so curious we were about to look for Neville’s frog down there. Why not come along? I think some of the teachers already went down that way.”

Harry glanced at Ron and they nodded at one another. Whatever bizarre incident was happening on the train, they wanted to peek a look so they could get a headstart on the school’s gossip for the year.

“Let’s get going then,” said Hermione, taking the lead and walking further back down the train. Ron and Harry walked behind her, leaving their things behind to come back for them later. Neville waited for them to move in front before following them, clearly nervous about the rumours about the boy at the back of the train.

Walking through the doorway to the next train carriage, Harry immediately felt the atmosphere take a turn. While just one carriage down he’d been enjoying chocolates and sweets with a new friend moments before, here it already felt thick with tension. They had to push through a small group of nervous looking students in casual clothes who had collected at the entrance with Hermione muttering a few “excuse me”s, though none seemed to want to venture too far in.

The wood and dim lights of the other carriages was nowhere to be seen here. It was all metal, and at the end of the carriage was a cage with thick bars.

“This carriage is an old luggage carriage,” Hermione whispered, “used to transport student’s belongings, and back in the past, dangerous magical beasts.” Surrounding it, looking in, were a group of three adults in the type of robes Harry knew to signify them as Hogwarts teaching staff. A tall and wise looking lady with a pointed witch’s hat was stood at the front, talking to someone within the cage.

“That’s Professor Professor Minerva McGonagall, the Head of Gryffindor House,” whispered Hermione again. “She teaches transfiguration, but it’s well known that she's a master of all the magical arts, and has been deputy head of the school for some time.”

“Who are the others?” asked Harry.

“The one to her right with the purple turban is Professor Quirrel. He’s a new teacher, I don’t know much about him, but I heard some of the other students talking about him earlier. And the one in the robes…” She paused, looking up, recalling. “That’s Professor Trelawney, the astrology teacher. I don’t know much about her, the subject didn’t really catch my interest I’m afraid.

Harry nodded, trying to remember what Hermione was saying, and keeping an ear out to overhear what was going on.

“Listen, boy,” said Professor McGonagall in a thick Scottish accent that was unwavering and fierce. “If what happened with those other students was indeed an accident, then you can be forgiven -- after you’re reprimanded, though, of course. Magical accidents, do happen, you know. But you must leave this luggage cage at once.”

Moving a little closer to the scene, Harry could now see with the darkness behind the bars. There, reclined on some cushions on the floor, was the first-year-to-be that Hermione had mentioned. But, at 195cm tall, and with an incredibly muscular frame squeezed into a dark school uniform Harry didn’t recognise, he looked much older than he was.

“Listen, you old bitch,” came the curt reply from the student’s mouth. “I ain’t going anywhere, so buzz off.”

“Well, I never,” said McGonagall, shocked. “In all my years I’ve never…”

“Seems I’ve been possessed by an evil spirit, and I have no idea what it’ll make me do next,” the boy continued. “During that fight with those kids earlier, it took all I had just to stop it. So do me a favour, and just leave me in this cage until you can all get far away.”

“Mister Jotaro Kujo, if you don’t come out of there this instant you’ll be in serious trouble, not just with Hogwarts, but with the Ministry Of Magic itself. You’re here to attend a magic school, so if you’re having problems, we can help.”

A boy from the back of the carriage stepped forward, his face bruised and cut. “Pro… Professor,” he began. “I don’t think he’s lying about the evil spirit thing when he attacked me and the others. Maybe we should just leave him and get the hell away.”

McGonagall threw him a filthy look and the boy stopped what he was saying.

Jotaro tutted, and picked up his wand, a straightforward thing with a single black star near the hilt. The teachers behind McGonagall took a step back, though she remained resolute. However, Jotaro turned the wand on himself, lifted up a green can of drink, and pierced it near the bottom using the tip of the wand. The way he reclined, drinking the liquid spilling forth from the bottom of the can, was like nobody was around watching him at all.

“What are you doing with a butterbeer in there?” asked the man next to McGonagall, his voice timid and stuttering. Professor Quirrel, Harry remembered.

“Cor, I’d have loved a butterbear with those chocolate frogs,” murmured Ron. “But because of the alcoholic content, they’re not allowed to serve them here. I wonder where he got it from.”

Neville let out a little grunt, but Harry and the others didn’t really know what he meant by it.

“Like I said, I’ve got an evil spirit. And sometimes it likes to bring me things from nearby,” Jotaro said. He sighed, and stood up, his height making his head almost touch the roof of the train. It looked like his hat scraped against it. It was a peaked cap with a golden trim and gold emblems on it -- a circle, and a sign of an open hand. At the back, it seemed to blend into his messy tangle of dark hair. He shook his head and took his cap off, a dark gold chain attached to the collar of his jacket clattered as he did so. “This might not be enough to make you guys keep me locked up in here,” he grumbled, “but I’ll show you how evil the spirit is anyway. Maybe then you’ll see why letting me out of here is a bad idea.”

He held up his hand towards the teachers, pointing it at them from behind the bars. Then, like a flash, a purple hand seemed to materialise out of the air, swoosh forwards, and grasp at something by Professor Quirrel’s side, then it flew back towards him.

Then, there! In the boy’s hand was a wand. Not the one from before. It must have been Quirrel’s.

“My wand,” gasped Quirrel.

“In case that wasn’t enough,” said Kujo. “Then watch this.” He raised the wand to the side of his head and began to mutter “Avada…”

Hermioned stepped forward. “No!” she called. Neville closed his eyes and began to sob.

“Kedavra!”

A green light flashed from the tip of the wand, throwing stark shadows of everyone onto the walls. But it appeared to be frozen in mid-air, just between the tip of the wand and the side of Jotaro’s head. There it was, thought Harry, he could see it now the flickering had settled, a purple hand wrapped in a black, gold-studded fingerless glove appeared to be grasping the spell in the air. The green light flickered, then disappeared as the thumb and forefinger holding it steady crushed it out of existence.

“It’s like there’s someone just out of my vision that’s bound itself to me,” he said.

The wand clattered to the floor and nobody said anything. The crowd began to thin as students retreated back into the safety of the other carriages. Even most of the other teachers were stepping back, unsure of what to do. Only Professor McGonnagal was holding her ground.

“So you really think you can help me after that?” asked Jotaro. “An old hag like yourself? Nobody can.”

“An impressive show young man,” said McGonnagal, “but I’ll make you leave this cage yet.”

Jotaro frowned. McGonnagal stepped forward, a wand seeming to jump into her hand. “Incarcerous,” she snapped, and Jotaro flew back against the wall behind him, thick ropes and twisting metal bars emerged from the surroundings and wrapped themselves around his limbs. He cursed, struggling against the confinement.

“If you want to be trapped, then very well,” said McGonnagal.

Jotaro grunted loudly. With a flick of her wand, the coils only continued to tighten.

“She’s really going to hurt him,” said Harry. Hermione nodded, and Ron looked worried. “Should we say something?”

“I’m not sure what we should do,” said Hermione. “I’m not sure if there's anything we _can_ do.”

Hermione began to take a step forward as if to say something, but before her mouth could open Jotaro let out a loud cry, and his shackles burst from his body, and a ghostly essence seemed to slip forth from him, suspended in the air. It was a purple creature roughly Jotaro’s own height and build. It looked not dissimilar to him, with bulging muscles covered with loose golden armour strands coming to a head in glittering golden pauldron shoulder armour. Around its neck was a loose red scarf, and its dark hair flowed wildly behind its mean glare -- framed by a golden crown with a gem in the centre, and a thick black goatee beard. It was wrapped in a glowing purple aura.

“There it is,” said McGonnagal. “It’s finally showed itself. A patronus. The fact it’s so clearly visible means it must be an incredible strong one as well.”

“Fine,” said Jotaro. “Then let’s do this.” The creature lunged forward, passing through the bars as if they weren’t there, and grabbed hold of McGonagall, squeezing her tightly.

She wheezed slightly. “I was going easy on you before, but if you push me further I might have to put you in the hospital wing,” she said between gasps. Jotaro narrowed his eyes. She flicked her wand again. “Incendio Duo Incarcerous.” Green flames twisted from the tip of the wand, and wrapped themselves Jotaro tightly.

He yelled out in pain. “I can’t breathe,” he muttered. The purple creature began to fade, withdrawing closer to Jotaro.

“Your patronus might be strong, boy, but it’s still linked to your own spirit,” said McGonnagal. “You’re the weak link here. Now stop this.”

His breathing getting weaker, Jotaro groaned in pain. It seemed like the creature would fade away entirely, but then it snapped back, letting loose a hard punch to the ceiling above Jotaro. “Ora,” it called out. Then again: “Ora!”

Professor McGonnagal frowned. Then the roof came away, punched out by the creature. The twisted metal flew away into the darkening night sky as the train continued to speed on towards its destination, and windy rain began to whip inside the carriage. The flames holding Jotaro began to sizzle out.

“That’s destruction of school property,” muttered the third and final teacher in the room, the bespectacled one. She wrapped her loose robes tighter around her as the cold air reached inside the carriage.

“You had your chance,” said Jotaro as he righted himself.

Professor McGonnagal muttered another spell and the tip of her wand began to glow a fearsome blue.

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” he continued. He stepped forward and the purple creature grabbed the bars of the cage, twisting them with its hands until they snapped free, glinted points at the end. It raised them high, letting out a battle cry, and continued to move towards the teachers. Jotaro walked behind it towards them. 

Professor Quirrel and the other teacher began to back off looking worries, the second one fumbling with a deck of tarot cards.

Harry and the other first years with him had no idea what to do. This crazed new student was approaching Professor McGonnagal wielding sharp bars of metal that looked like they could kill.

Professor McGonnagal smirked, and turned her back on Jotaro, strolling towards Harry and the others at a slow pace, her wand hand falling to her side.

“What the Hell?” asked Jotaro. “Why are you turning your back on me now? We’re not done here.” The creature disappeared, and the spiked bars clattered to the floor.

“You’ve left your cage,” McGonnagal smirked without turning around. “I’ve done exactly as I said I would.” She stopped in front of Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Neville. “Hermione Granger,” she said in greeting, “I have heard about you. We expect big things from you at Hogwarts.” She looked at Harry. “And Mr. Potter, of course. I’m glad to see you’ve all been making friends. Ms. Granger, can I ask you to make sure you keep Mr. Kujo out of trouble for the remainder of the trip? I expect we’ll be arriving soon enough.” She glanced back to the other two teachers. “Let’s head back to the teacher’s carriage now we’ve done with this nuisance for now. We can discuss it later.”

Before they followed, Professor Trelawney turned nervously back to Jotaro, and showed him a card from her tarot. “The Star,” she muttered. “Your Patronus… something abnormal about it. The gilding on the card… platinum.”

“So you’re saying my ‘evil spirit’ is my star platinum, huh?” grumbled Jotaro. “I like it.”

The teachers milled away, leaving Jotaro alone stood outside of the cage, rain still lashing in. The only others that remained were Harry and the others. Jotaro turned around and picked up his hat. He brushed it off and shook it, catching something in his hand, then walked over to them. Close up, he stood at nearly twice their size.

“So, you guys are first year students here as well, right?” he asked.

They all nodded back nervously. “This is Harry, Ron, and Neville,” said Hermione. “And I’m Hermione Granger. It’s nice… nice to meet you.”

“Think this might be something to do with you,” he said, holding out his large hands. Within them was a shaken looking toad. “Seems it hid inside my hat in the middle of the fight.”

Neville’s eyes lit up, and he lunged forward for the toad. “Thank you,” he called.

The very edge of Jotaro’s lips curled into a minor smile. “Didn’t know a damn thing about this magic business before I heard about Hogwarts,” said Jotaro. “My meddling grandfather told me I had to enroll, and leave my education in Japan behind. Just because he’s friends with the headmaster here. Good grief, what a pain.” He shook his head.

“Your grandfather is friends with Dumbledore?” asked Ron, his surprise untying his tongue for him.

“Sounds like it,” grumbled Jotaro. “This ‘patronus’ thing… Star Platinum. Seems the old man thought coming here would help me somehow, though he was saying something about ‘stands’. But I’m sure there’s more to it that he’s not telling me. At least by coming here I get to get away from him and my mum a bit, and all those girls at my old school.”

“All those girls?” asked Hermione, an eyebrow raised.

The group continued to talk, swapping stories about how they came to learn about magic, Neville and Ron continuously acting surprised about how all of the things they’d come to take for granted about the wizarding world being brand new to Harry, Hermione, and Jotaro. Then the train began to ease to a halt, a large looming castle coming into view from the window. They had arrived at Hogwarts.

“Hopefully now we all know each other we can keep being friends,” said Hermione.

“Yeah,” said Harry, his nervous about starting a new school now thoroughly stamped out by dealing with all this strangeness before even setting foot on the school grounds.

Jotaro mumbled in agreement, and began to heave open the large doors of the luggage carriage. “Hogwarts, huh,” he mumbled. “Something tells me we’re just getting started on one bizarre adventure.”

The doors of the luggage carriage were wide enough for all of them to disembark at once. Their feet all landed on the ground at the same time, and they stepped forward in unison, onward towards their beginning at Hogwarts School Of Witchcraft And Wizardry together.

\--- TO BE CONTINUED --->


	2. THE SORTING HAT WILL BE THE JUDGE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jotaro and the others are ushered from the train into Hogwarts castle where they meet the legendary sorting hat. But which house will Jotaro be sorted into?

CHAPTER TWO: THE SORTING HAT WILL BE THE JUDGE

Harry, Hermione, Ron, Neville, and Jotaro walked behind the rest of the students as they made their way towards the trail that led up to Hogwarts. Just as they were about to pass through the gate they heard someone calling out.

“Firs’ years, firs’ years o’er ‘ere!”

Harry looked over to see Hagrid, the half-giant who had alerted him to his wizarding heritage in dramatic fashion, and gave a big grin. “Looks like Hagrid is escorting first years to the castle.” Jotaro eyed up the boats bobbing in the small dock behind the large man. “And it looks like it’s by boat.”

“Yes, it’s tradition for all first years to be taken across the lake by boat to enter the welcoming feast by the great hall’s lakeside entrance,” said Hermione.

Ron nodded. “All my brothers have told me about it. Not looking forward to all the rest of the years being there and watching us come in to be honest.”

Neville looked pale. Jotaro glanced at the older students walking up the trailer and tutted. “Good grief, what a pain. And we’ve just been sat down the entire train journey too.” He adjusted his hat and turned towards Hagrid. “Better get this over with, then.”

Hagrid beamed as soon as he set eyes on the group. “‘Arry!” he called. “Glad to see you’re making friends.” Looking at Jotaro he raised both brows. At just below 260cm himself, Hagrid was still much taller than Jotaro, but not by nearly as much as he was expecting from the job of having to escort first years. “Crikey, you’re a big ‘un ain’t you? Are you half-giant as well? I am, on me mum’s side.”

Jotaro shook his head. “No, though my mum says I look like my gramps in old photos. I had a bit of a growth spurt when I was eleven.”

“How old are you now,” asked Hagrid.

“Turned 12 earlier in the year. Seems my enrolment took a little while.”

“Well,” said Hagrid, scratching his beard. “Might have to give you a boat mostly to yourself. Usually it’s four apiece. But I think we should have enough.”

Jotaro boarded the boat held out by Hagrid, tucking his legs in tightly. Only the toad boy, Neville Longbottom was allowed on the boat with him, so he nodded to the others as they boarded. At first Neville was silent, staring up at Jotaro as the boats drifted across the lake, but once he plucked up the courage to say something he droned on about his toad and the castle until Hagrid’s booming voice overrode his. The half-giant was giving them an introduction to the castle looming in the distance, but it was hard to hear him given how far back his and Neville’s boat was, owing perhaps to Jotaro’s size increasing the drag. Which, coincidentally, was what Jotaro thought the whole boat experience was: a drag.

“Yare yare daze,” he murmured to himself in his native tongue.

Before too long the boats were led through a cave opening, and maneuvered through a tunnel into a sort of underground harbour which house an imposing stone door. It’d make a good secret entrance if every student coming to the school wasn’t made immediately aware of it.

By the time Jotaro and Neville stepped onto the planks that expanded the stone cave floor, he noticed that Ron and Harry were talking animatedly with a group of three nasty looking creeps. Two of the boys looked quite plump, their eyebrows knotted into what Jotaro thought was likely a permanent resting frown. The one in front, while a bit shorter, was clearly the leader. He had slicked back white hair, was very pale, and looked like the kind of kid who’d be vice president of a company just because their father owned it.

“The more you learn about the wizarding world the sooner you’ll find out that some families are just better than others, Potter,” Jotaro overheard as he approached the group. “You wouldn’t want to get too close to the /wrong/ sort. If you’d like, I could help you.”

The creep held out a hand to Harry, but Jotaro was pleased to see Harry left it hanging. A small blush came across the pale boy’s face.

“Who are these creeps?” asked Jotaro, stepping next to Harry. The boy’s eyes widened a little bit as they took in all of Jotaro’s 195cm and muscle bound frame. The other two boys stepped back a little bit.

“If you must know, I’m Draco Malfoy,” he said. “And this is Crab and Goyle.” The two nodded as he said their names, but Jotaro instantly forgot which was which. Well, he thought, neither was a witch, they were both wizards. He smirked a little bit at that.

“Something funny?” snapped Draco.

“Maybe there is,” said Jotaro, drawing himself up to full height. “Are you gonna ask me?”

Draco looked between Jotaro, Harry, and Ron, and then stalked off.

“Crikey,” muttered Ron. “Thought that was going to kick off there for a bit. I heard the Malfoys were jerks, but I wasn’t expecting him to say all that stuff about my family.”

“Just ignore him,” said Harry, as they began to walk into the castle through the big doors, Hagrid ushering everyone through.

“Prime Slytherin material,” said Ron. “The family -- his dad -- used to be on You-Know-Who’s side when that whole business was going on. But they were one of the first to come back over. They said they were bewitched, but, well, my dad who works at the ministry says that’s a load of old nonsense, that Malfoy’s dad didn’t need a reason to go over to the dark side, that was just what he wanted.”

“You-Know-Who?” asked Jotaro.

“You can’t say his name!” said Ron.

Harry shook his head. “Lord Voldemort, the dark lord who killed my parents. At one point, it seemed liked he’d take over the wizarding world and the whole rest of it too. He’s who gave me this scar.” He swooshed his fringe to the side to show off his lightning-shaped scar.

“That’s rough,” said Jotaro. “My gramps told me my family were also terrorised by a dark lord. From over here in the UK, actually. Maybe coming here was fate after all.”

At the top of the winding stairs were big wooden doors, and right next to them Professor McGonnagal waited for the students.

“Here’s the first years Professor,” said Hagrid, as he handed them off to her custody.

“Right then,” she announced to the group, who were all dripping little drops of water onto the stone floor from where the light rain had soaked into their clothes. “Through here is the Great Hall where the rest of the school awaits the sorting ceremony. You will all form an orderly line, and you shall each be called up one at a time to place the hat upon your head. It will sort you from there. Once called, you will then join the houses’ table, and can tuck into some food and drink -- I’m sure you’re all hungry.”

She opened the doors, and led them into the massive hall, which was all abuzz with chatter from the few hundred students inside, all sat at one of four large tables. On the far side was one long one, sat perpendicular, on which all the staff stat facing the students. As the hat, an old looking brown thing, was brought out on a display table and placed next to a stool, the hum of chatter began to thin, and everyone paid attention.

Suddenly, without much prompting, the hat leapt alive, a face forming on the wrinkles in the fabric. It busted out some excellent bars of freestyle rap that summarised its purpose, and briefly explained the principles behind each of the four houses: Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, Slytherin, and Gryffindor. Jotaro wondered if everyone in the hall was familiar with the song, or if the hat spent each year coming up with a new one.

Then Professor McGonnagal started calling up students, starting with Hannah Abbott (Hufflepuff). Jotaro saw that Hermione, the girl from the train, was sorted into Gryffindor, along with Neville, the toad boy. Unsurprisingly Malfoy and his cronies ended up in Slytherin.

Then came Harry Potter, who took the longest to be sorted -- the sorting hat seemed to be deliverating something with him quietly. But then it called out “Gryffindor”.

One by one, everyone around Jotaro was called to the hat until only a few were left, Ron thinning the ranks and ending up in Gryffindor with the rest of his family. And then, he was left standing there alone. He could see Professor McGonnagal squinting at the parchment in her hands. Was leaving him to stew until the end the old hag’s idea of getting back at him for the train? Perhaps he deserved it but he wouldn’t give her the pleasure.

He felt something come over him, like a tingle all over his body, and behind him he sensed it again. Star Platinum was with him for a moment, and for some reason he was able to see right away across to the other side of the hall. He could make out the individual red hairs on Ron’s head all the way over on the Gryffindor table where he was sat whispering with Harry. And then across, he saw the parchment Professor McGonnagal was holding, every name on the list as clear as if he were holding it himself. There was the name she was squinting at: 空条承太郎. That explained why he was left until the end. Damn it. Didn’t these so-called wizards have a spell to read other languages? But he was in Britain after all.

The power subsided, and Jotaro stepped forward, one foot in front of the other, and adjusted his cap. His jacket swished around him, highlighting the muscles that swelled through his purple t-shirt.

“Kujo, Jotaro,” he announced as he approached the stool with the sorting hat on top of it.

Professor McGonnagal looked up. “Ah, of course. Mr. Kujo. Place the hat on your head if you please.”

“Yeah, yeah, I get the picture. I’m not blind. Cut me some slack, will ya?”

Jotaro sat down on the stool. Realising he’d have to remove his cap to put on this new hat, he groaned. “Good grief.”

With the hat on his head, he felt a strange sensation, something ringing near his ears, and then a voice, whispering to him, speaking so softly nobody else would be able to hear. “Ah, Jotaro Kujo, eh?” It was the voice of the hat, and it he realised it was speaking directly into his head.

Jotaro cleared his mind in order to reply in kind, trying to ignore the eyes of everyone in the great hall. “Hey, hat. Do me a favour and get this over with. Gryffindor will do me fine. Those kids I met on the train didn’t seem so bad to be around, and they all ended up there.”

The hat hummed.

“Well? Get on with it. Don’t tell me they need to give you away to a charity shop.”

“I’m afraid to say Jotaro, that I don’t think I’ve seen a clearer Slytherin candidate in my life. You’re mean, you’re arrogant, and you crave power, don’t you? You’d be very welcome in that house.”

Jotaro tutted. He hadn’t heard good things about that house with the snake emblem at all. He didn’t like the sound of that one bit.

“Gotta say, I don’t like the sound of that one bit,” thought Jotaro.

“That’s too bad. You’ll come to thank me in time.”

Jotaro felt the hat tense up, about to call out the house’s name the Great Hall and seal the deal. Without even thinking, Jotaro felt the power from before rise up in him. Above his head, the sorting hat only let out a muffled cry.

Without revealing himself to the crowd, Star Platinum had manifested out of the top of his head, phasing through the hat to use its strong fingers to hold the hat’s mouth closed.

“What are you doing?” the hat seemed to whisper into his mind.

“Keeping your smart mouth shut,” said Jotaro internally.

The Great Hall seemed to darken. Everything went black. Except, Jotaro looked down, and he could still see his own feet. It wasn’t that the lights had gone out, but he was surrounded by darkness, trapped in some sort of void.

“What the hell are you doing, you bastard?” he cursed.

“You called me old earlier,” said the hat, its voicing seeming to boom in this realm of darkness. “But if only you knew how old. If only you knew what wisdom and experience you’re meddling with.”

Jotaro squinted but remained silent. He tried to move, but whatever was happening had him bound to his seat, the hat in the real world clearly holding his body hostage. The sorting hat seemed to appear in the void before him, floating, even though he could still feel it sat on his head.

“My job has been to sort the students for centuries. To use my judgement. To see inside the minds of students and find what path they’ll most flourish on. That’s why we’ve connected mentally this way. I’ve always been something of a Sharp Dressed Man, and sharp in wits to match.”

“So you think you’re the one who gets to judge these students?” spat Jotaro. “Gotta say it leaves a bad taste in my mouth.”

“In all these years I’ve yet to make a mistake. I’ll hear you out, but I know what I saw within you, and what darkness grips at the roots of your family.”

Jotaro grunted, trying to stand up. “Oh yeah? You think you could never be wrong, huh? While poking through the thoughts of kids’ minds like a book?” Jotaro began to chuckle, and then it turned into a full blown laugh.

The hat in front of him creased its fabric into a frown. “What?” it asked. “What’s so funny?”

“Damn,” said Jotaro, shaking his head. “I just realised you’re not so different from your average nosy pervert. It’d be gross if it wasn’t so sad.”

“I’m glad that’s funny to you, but I’m the sorting hat here and what I’ve read using my legilimency is always true. They’re mere facts after all. And as long as I hold you here in my world, and as long as I’m on top of your head, that’s the way it will be. So, I think I’ll be placing you in your house now. I won’t have another hatstall on my hands. As long as we’re spiritually connected this way, you won’t be able to stop me.”

“That’s the thing you seem to have forgotten,” Jotaro smirked.

“What?” asked the sorting hat, peering closer at Jotaro.

“If our minds are connected, then that means our spirits are one.”

The sorting hat frowned.

“ORA!”

A mighty fist swung through the air and struck the sorting hat’s fabric, the folds that made up its face folding into one another as they took such a heavy impact. It yelled as it rocketed away.

“I sensed it before. This Star Platinum of mine /is/ my spirit. So even here I can use it.”

Jotaro stood up from his seated position. Star Platinum slipped entirely from his body and hovered in the air just behind him.

“Ora!” called Star Platinum into the air. It felt good to flex his new power so openly like this.

“No, how are you getting up?” asked the sorting hat. “This isn’t how legilimency is supposed to work. You should just accept my sorting. I’m never wrong. If anything, you’re just proving me more right.”

“Look, nobody ever said that Jotaro Kujo was a nice guy,” said Jotaro, stepping forward towards the sorting hat, Star Platinum frowning behind him. “I beat the crap out of people. More than I have to. Some are still in the hospital. I’ve had idiot teachers at my old school who liked to talk big, so I taught ‘em a lesson, and they never came back. If I go to a restaurant and the food’s bad, I make it a policy to stiff ‘em on the bill. But even a bastard like me can spot true injustice when he sees it.”

“The arrogance of youth,” said the sorting hat, rising once again before Jotaro. “To think you have better judgement than me. I can see into your soul, boy.”

“You think you can be the judge?” asks Jotaro. “Then this has to be a battle of wills. And I will be the judge!”

“ORA!” Star Platinum cried out and lunged forward into a thrusting punch once again.

But the fist stopped in the air.

This time the hat had time to anticipate the assault from the battle cry, and something had flopped from its gaping and empty floating head hole. It was a flat, spooling piece of fabric that resembled a humanoid body, and the end of it that would have been a right hand was gripping Star Platinum’s fist in the air.

“This is my domain,” grunted the sorting hat, turning it hand to the side and flipping Star Platinum over.

As it flew through the air, Jotaro felt his own body do the same, the void spinning in front of him. Not only was Star Platinum a manifestation of his fighting spirit, but what damage it took on seemed to reflect back on himself physically, at least partially. He grunted and instinctively reached out to steady himself as the sorting hat advanced with its own assault. Righting himself he jumped out of the way at just the right moment, avoiding the cracking whip-like barrage of strikes from the hat.

“Just submit your will and accept the justice I can bring you,” said the hat.

“ORA!” Star Platinum shot forward and struck out at the hat’s stretching fabric limbs, but they reeled back just out of reach. Jotaro felt instinctively that the creature -- his Stand, his grandfather had alluded to only a month earlier -- couldn’t reach any further. It’s range from Jotaro seemed to be about two metres, but that seemed a small price to pay for the incredible strength he already felt flowing through him.

The sorting hat’s fabric tentacles ignored Star Platinum though, and dove straight towards the source, for Jotaro. Still steadying himself for the previous leap, he was momentarily low on energy. As his breathing faltered he felt too that Star Platinum was getting weaker. They were connected. Symbiotic. And in this moment, Jotaro knew he was the weak link. Without really thinking about it, Star Platinum leapt forward grasping for the tentacles. “ORA, ORA.” He struck them, but the fabric was loose and malleable, the trajectory altered by Star Platinum’s swipes only barely causing them to miss Jotaro.

He steadied his breathing and allowed Star Platinum to dematerialise. He felt it reassert itself into his body, coming home. He turned to the sorting hat, the fabric spooling from within, as its wrinkled face still glared at him. That was it. As before, he just needed to land a solid hit on the hat itself. Break its will, and its dominance over this mental realm would falter, and Jotaro would regain control in the balance between their minds.

But before he could launch a counterassault the hat was already upon him. The reams of fabric came at him from all directions and gripped his limbs tightly, holding him still.

“You have a stronger will than I thought,” hummed the sorting hat as it came nearer once again. “Could I really have been wrong?”

Jotaro grimaced.

“If you’d just stop struggling, perhaps I can probe a little deeper into your thoughts, and into the Joestar bloodline…”

The fabric shot forward, aiming right at Jotaro’s head. He steadied himself.

Just at the moment of impact he suddenly manifested Star Platinum in front of himself, blocking the attack with its arms, and brushing the tendrils to the side.

The sorting hat gasped. “And I thought your will was broken…!”

“As if,” spat Jotaro. “I was just waiting for an opening. You were the one lecturing me about arrogance before? I think you’re the one who needs the lesson.”

Having drawn within the two metres once again, the sorting hat was in prime range. Star Platinum curled its fist into a ball, and shot out a punch at short range so hard that it cracked through the air like a gunshot. But before the momentum could knock it back, Star Platinum gripped the hat to stop it getting away.

“Oraoraoraoraoraora!” Jotaro and Star Platinum yelled in unison, whacking the struggling piece of headwear to and fro and he held it still in the other.

“This,” Jotaro yelled, “is my own judgement.”

“ORA!” with one final uppercut, Star Platinum launched the sorting hat clean into the air with all the strength Jotaro could still muster.

Jotaro began to breath heavily. The damn dusty old hat had really given him a run for his money.

Flattened from top to bottom, the sorting hat lazily floated back down to the ground, completely squashed.

“Amazing,” it muttered. “Such pressure. That intense willpower. Even without having to look into your mind itself I can tell from just seeing your spirit in person. So that is the truth behind the Joestar bloodline.”

“It’s Kujo,” said Jotaro, picking up the flattened hat and shaking it back into shape.

“Very well, Jotaro Kujo, you’ll have to walk your own path. I can only hope it is the right decision for what is yet to come,” sighed the hat. “Gryffindor!”

And just like that the blank void disappeared and he could see the Great Hall again. Or just barely anyway. The candles which had been lit before were now burned down, and the large tables were all tucked against the walls. It was completely empty. He pulled the hat off his head. “What the hell?”

“What do you expect?” asked the hat. “We’ve been mentally joined for hours.”

“Oh good frickin’ grief,” sighed Jotaro, tossing the hat onto the little presentation table that was still beside his stool, putting his trusty cap back on, and adjusting it onto his head. “I’m outta here. Where’s the Gryfinndor dorm?”

“Gryffindor Tower,” said the hat. “Up the Grand Staircase. You can’t miss it. Behind the Fat Lady’s portrait on the landing.”

Jotaro began to head off towards the large doors, eager to find somewhere where he could take a load off, and put some distance between him and this irritating hat.

“And if you could tell a teacher we’re done here so they could fetch me from the cold, that would be great,” said the hat.

Jotaro didn’t answer.

* * *

Jotaro found it curious that all the paintings he saw seemed to move by themselves as he climbed the steps. He hated to admit it, but he was exhausted from the sorting, and the hundreds of steps he seemed to have to climb didn’t help.

The stairs seemed to shift in front of him, so sometimes it felt like once he reached the top of a staircase, he was already right at the bottom, like time was rewinding. But eventually he found what seemed to be Gryffindor Tower, the entrance to which was marked with the same house crest he had seen in the Great Hall. A haughty looking and plump woman stood in a large portrait at the end of the hallway.

“Hey,” he announced. “Gryffindor dorm, right?”

“Um, yes,” she squinted at him. “What’s the password?”

“The password?” he asked.

“You need the password to get in.”

He shook his head. “Good frickin’ grief. Are you serious? Let me in.”

She shook hers in return. “I can’t. I have a responsibility to keep the dormitories secure and private.”

“Nobody told me a damn password you annoying smudge,” he snapped.

“Well then I can’t let you in.”

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“Perhaps you should find a teacher and-- OH!”

“ORA!” Star Platinum leapt from his body and with a single punch ripped through the portrait’s canvas, the fat lady barely leaping out of the way in time, ducking over into a nearby painting.

“There we go, didn’t have to make such an issue of it” said Jotaro. He stepped through the hole, having to duck awkwardly due to his impressive size.

After he entered, he found that everyone in the common room was staring at his entrance, mouths agape.

“Tsk.” He pulled his cap down, and walked over to a sofa before taking a seat.

“JoJo!” called Ron from across the room, who was with Harry and Neville. They seemed pleased to see him. They walked over to say hi. Ron laughed. “Neville came up with the name. He noticed the ‘Jo’ in Jotaro and the ‘Jo’ in Kujo.”

It was the same nickname some of the kids in his old school had given him. It had taken a lot to be sorted into this dormitory, but maybe it had been the right decision after all. He pulled his cap down to hide the relief in his eyes and only shrugged. “Yeah, was there ever any doubt?”

\--- TO BE CONTINUED --->

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one took a while and got quite long. In hindsight maybe I should have split it into two and had one just cover the journey from the train to Hogwarts, as a bit more snuck in there than I thought, but I really wanted to have the boats and for Jotaro to meet Draco. Mainly this chapter is all about the conflicting wills between Jotaro and the sorting hat, which is something I've been thinking of for a while.
> 
> For now this still is mainly just mashing up the plotlines from the two sources, but as the plot of Harry Potter begins to take over a bit more, you will see Jotaro in more unique situations I think.


	3. THE CURSE OF POTIONS

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jotaro begins lessons at Hogwarts and continues to get close to Ron and Harry (in his own way). However, he struggles to use any type of magic that is not Star Platinum.

Hogwarts School Of Witchcraft And Wizardry turned out to be even bigger inside than the large castle exterior had hinted at. One hundred and forty two staircases connected the floors and halls, each one more of a hassle than the last. They swung back and forth seemingly at random, and many of them had fake steps. Sure, Star Platinum could identify those at a glance for Jotaro, but it still seemed like a hazardous choice for a school. The whole system made the Tokyo Subway look simple by comparison.

Even a week or so after his induction to the Gryffindor Dormitory Jotaro still hadn’t gotten the hang of the staircases. Somehow he must have made his way up and down them some two hundred times searching for the route down to the dungeons for potions class. The animated portraits that lined the halls didn’t help either, as after the incident with the Fat Lady he noticed most of them would slink out of their frames as soon as he drew near.

To make matters worse when he’d finally stopped to ask one of the ghosts that patrolled the corridors for directions it had blown a raspberry and started throwing things from bins at him. He deflected them with Star Platinum, but any time he tried to strike the creature (Peeves, he heard passing older students mutter), his stand’s punches would materialize through it.

It was as he was trying to pulverise Peeves that he heard a couple of squeaky voices behind him.

“JoJo!” waved Ron Weasley, who was sauntering along next to Harry Potter.

“On your way to potions?” asked Harry.

“It’s our first lesson in the dungeons,” said Ron. “But my older brothers told me the best way to get there. Walk with us.”

“Sure,” said Jotaro, losing interest in the ghost as Star Platinum faded back into his body. He adjusted his cap cooly and fell into step beside the boys who were about half his height. He was secretly relieved to be able to take a backseat in the navigation of the infernal castle.

“I think we must have had our first lessons of every subject by now,” said Ron.

“Well, not Flying yet,” said Harry.

“Oh yeah, that’s right. I can’t wait to get on a broomstick,” said Ron. “It’s been a while.”

“Well, I’ve never even tried,” said Harry.

“What?” exclaimed Ron. “Oh, of course you wouldn’t have. And you too, JoJo.” Ron looked the tall Japanese schoolboy up and down, taking in all 195cm of his ripped muscle. “Though I’m not sure I’d want to be in the broomstick’s position when you try. You might snap it like a twig.”

“It’s possible,” grumbled Jotaro.

\--

Dressed in a pitch black robe and with heavy black hair and deep dark eyes Severus Snape looked like he was perfectly home in the dungeons, despite them being colder than the rest of the castle -- all drip drops of water and exposed stone. Rumour had it though that Snape personally cleaned some of the dungeons to keep them in pristine condition, and was prideful of his work.

After they had filed in, the British movie-star Alan Rickman-lookalike began to tap his wand over the class list as he called names. When he reached Harry’s name he paused.

“Well, well,” he said. “If it isn’t our new celebrity. Mr. Harry Potter.” Draco Malfoy and his friends snickered from across the room.

The class was taught with both Gryffindor and Slytherin students, and as Professor Snape was the head of Slytherin house, Jotaro expected this class could be the biggest hassle yet. And that was saying something. Star Platinum seemed to be the only magic he could rely on, and his introduction to the likes of Charms and Transfigurations had been dull and uneventful. Even Defence Against The Dark Arts had been a disappointment, with the cowardly Professor Quirrell reading from a boring book and emanating a strange garlic smell.

Professor Snape’s eyes turned to Jotaro, sat next to Harry. “And Mr. Jotaro Kujo.” He pronounced each syllable of his name with a balanced ease. “We know all about the Joestar bloodline over here, don’t we?” Some other students in the class began to whisper.

After this Snape launched into an oddly sensual introductory speech about the art of potion making. “The beautiful curves of the cauldron … the delicate droplets of teased liquid … whispering sweet nothings in your ear … the delicate moistness that trickles down your back…” Jotaro was struggling to pay attention, so slow did Snape speak. “And of course, we don’t rely on anything as base as constant wand waving here.” At this Jotaro perked up. If it was just mixing ingredients, then even he might be able to give it a go.

“Potter!” Snape snapped snapely. “Pop quiz time, /hot shot/.” Harry gulped. “Let’s say I added asphodel -- powdered, mind you -- to a wormwood infusion. What would I get? Hm?”

“Er,” mumbled Harry. It was clear to Jotaro that Harry didn’t know.

“Tsk tsk,” said Snape, wagging his finger widely. “Fame is no substitute for intelligence after all.”

Hermione’s hand reached into the air, eager to answer the question, but Snape’s eyes didn’t move from Harry.

“Attempt number two. If I asked you to fetch me a,” he paused for effect, “bezoar. Where would you look?”

Once again Hermione’s arm shot into the air, higher than before. Harry gave a big sigh and shrugged. “No idea, sir.”

“Mr. Potter, have you even read the assigned books for this class? Have you even opened up Potions 101? Have you perused through Keeping Up With The Potions? Do you even /own/ a copy of the course-mandated Paul Hollywood’s Bread?”

“Sir, I have and I do--”

“Silence, Mr. Potter. The sensual Lord Of Potions to whom we are indebted has no time for pitiful excuses and falsehoods. I will give you one more chance. What, pray tell, is the difference between monkshood,” he paused for effect again and gave a smirk, “and… and, wolfsbane.”

Harry screwed up his face. For the third time Hermione’s arm shot into the air.

“I still don’t have any idea, Sir,” said Harry. He glanced at Hermione’s eager arms. “Hermione might though, why don’t you--”

“Oh good grief,” groaned Jotaro. “It’s obvious Harry doesn’t know so why bother with this? You’re putting me to sleep here. It’s clear that there’s no difference between monkshood and wolfsbane. A bezoar comes from a goat’s stomach. And the first thing? It makes a powerful and dangerous sleeping potion.”

Snape paused, his eyes narrowed. Just behind him, in a see-through glass case, lined up, was a pot labelled “monkshood/wolfsbane”, a case labelled “bezoar” with a diagram of a goat on it, and a few vials of “asphodel wormwood potion” with stickers that read “zzz” and had a skull and crossbones on it. Thanks to Star Platinum’s enhanced vision, he’d easily been able to read the whole thing from where he was sitting.

Once again it seemed that Star Platinum’s powers weren’t only suited just to hitting things, though he would have been glad to have knocked the smug look off Snape and Malfoy’s faces while Harry was being put on the spot. Jotaro’s stoic face betrayed a flicker of a smirk nevertheless as he saw Snape was momentarily taken aback.

But then Snape’s face recovered into one of the meanest looks Jotaro had seen outside of a mirror. “Well it looks like we have another Gryffindor… /show-off/,” said Snape calmly. “You will answer when requested, and not shout out every thought that comes into your head in a desperate plea for attention when within the walls of my classroom. That will be twenty points from Gryffindor.”

A cry of dismay came from the other students in the house. At the end of the year the house with the most points would win a cup, and for some reason it seemed to mean a lot to the students. Jotaro’s fist clenched, but he remained silent.

From there the lesson only got worse after they were paired up to follow a potions recipe. Once again Jotaro ended up paired off with the toad boy, Neville. Being unfamiliar with magic, the instructions were hard to follow, and before he could figure it out Neville had thrown an ingredient in at the wrong moment and the cauldron exploded in a flash. Star Platinum quickly managed to push the shaking cauldron away from him, but that only meant the blast caught Neville even more, and he had to walk the burnt boy all the way to the castle’s hospital wing.

As he came back to the Great Hall he passed Harry and Ron who were emerging from the dungeons, the lesson now over.

“Tough luck with Neville down there,” said Ron.

“Yeah, good grief,” said Jotaro.

“We’re just about to go to Hagrid’s in the castle grounds,” said Harry. “Would you like to come along, JoJo?”

“Hm,” Jotaro touched the rim of his cap and thought about it. While it would undoubtedly be a hassle to trek out to the groundskeeper's hut, he hadn’t left the castle itself since he’d started at the school, and all the annoying magic was beginning to get to him. A bit of fresh air could do him some good. “Sure,” he responded.

They pushed through the large castle doors and began to walk through the courtyard to a connecting wooden bridge that would take them to the part of the castle grounds near the lake, on the other side to the station where they had arrived on the train.

“Don’t beat yourself up about Snape docking some house points for what you did,” said Ron. “Everyone agrees you were in the right, and he’s always looking for an excuse to take points from Gryffindor. That’s what my brothers Fred and George say anyway.”

“And I appreciated you trying to help me out,” said Harry.

Jotaro nodded. “That guy seemed like he could have a real mean streak, but he also doesn’t seem like he’s worth my time worrying about.”

Ron scoffed.

Hagrid’s hut was a decent walk, but easy enough going following the trail that sloped down some of the steeper hills surrounding Hogwarts. A dense, dark forest lay in front of them (the forbidden forest, Jotaro assumed -- he’d heard some nasty rumours).

In front of it was Hagrid’s hut. It was a small, round, wooden thing that seemed unusually small given Hagrid’s size. Smoke plumed invitingly from a small chimney sticking out the roof at a jaunty angle. A pair of big black boots sat next to the doorway alongside a hulking crossbow that looked like an antique -- but a well-cared for one.

Harry knocked on the door and a loud barking came from within. “Fang! Back! Away from the door,” came Hagrid’s booming voice. The door opened a crack and Hagrid’s face poked out. “Jus’ gimme a min’it,” he said. Then to Fang: “easy boy, easy. There we go, there.”

Hagrid opened the door. Harry, Ron walked ahead and Jotaro was pleased to not have to duck. Despite the pokey size of the shack, Hagrid had at least gotten a door large enough to fit his half-giant self.

“‘Ave a seat. My place is y’ur place,” said Hagrid, as he settled Fang down in the corner, a massive black boarhound whose eyes were fixed upon Jotaro.

“This is Ron,” said Harry. “Ron Weasley.”

“Ah right, youse wer’ the one that wa’ wit’ ‘Arry at the crossing,” he said. “‘Ope youse ain’t as much trouble as those two nuisance twin broth’ers of yours.”

Ron blushed. Hagrid placed a tray of rock cakes on the table in front of them.

“And you’re… Joe… was it?” asked Hagrid.

“Jotaro Kujo,” said Jotaro Kujo.

“But we call him JoJo,” said Ron.

After that the boys launched into complaints about the school. About the nosy caretaker and his cat, Filch and Mrs. Norris; about the difficulty in navigating the school’s magical hallways; and of course about Potions class and Professor Snape. Harry seemed to have the sense that of all the students, Snape especially had it out for him, and given the way the class had started Jotaro couldn’t exactly blame him.

“Ah that’s nonsense,” said Hagrid. “He’s a cold fella but there’s no reason he’d have anything against you in particular.” Though his eyes avoided Harry’s when he said that. “Oh! Ron! ‘Ow’s your brother Charlie? ‘Eard he’s gon’ abroad to study dragons.”

The conversation turned to Charlie Weasley for a moment, but then Harry let out a little squeak. Something in the newspaper, The Daily Prophet, that was folded on Hagrid’s table had caught his attention.

“There was a break in at Gringotts Bank on my birthday, Hagrid,” he said. “That’s the same day we were there. It could have been happening at the same time we were there.”

Hagrid grunted, and Harry unfolded the paper to give everyone a better look.

 **NEWS ABOUT GRINGOTTS BREAK-IN**  
The once thought impregnable Gringrott’s Bank was breached on 31 July, and investigations are ongoing. The magic used is thought to be dark magic, but the perpetrator(s) remain unknown and at large.  
Reaching out to Goblin management we’ve been assured that despite the break-in nothing was taken, as the vault was emptied that same day, but they refused to comment on who the vault belonged to and what was inside. Some believe it might be linked to the Ministry’s recent seizure of a mysterious stone mask that was being stored at the bank for safekeeping, but these reports as of yet unverified.

This last sentence caught Jotaro’s attention, and something dark seemed to appear on Harry’s face too. Jotaro’s grandfather had never spoken about it in much detail, but he was well aware that a stone mask had played a part in the Joestar side of his family’s trouble from even as far back as the late 19th century. He frowned.

Hagrid grunted again. “All sorts of bad folk out there. These things ‘appen. Wouldn’t worry yoursel’ about it too much. Enjoy your schoolin’.”

They had visited Hagrid in an attempt to gain a slight reprieve from the stresses of their new magical education, and it had been a welcome break, but as the three trekked back up the hillside towards the darkening shape of Hogwarts as the sun began to sink, they were mostly silent, the newspaper headline having had a dark effect on all of them. Apart from Ron, who was joyfully munching down on the rock cakes he’d taken from Hagrid, chips of his teeth lining the path behind him.

\--- TO BE CONTINUED --->


	4. TOWER OF RED

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jotaro meets two new allies and takes part in first flying lesson, where an enemy is made.

Once again Jotaro Kujo cursed the layout of Hogwarts under his breath. He was taking a quick whizz in the disused sixth floor bathroom, already knowing he'd have to hustle to get all the way from where he'd had Charms down to the courtyard for the first flying lesson of the year.

"This bathroom is closed, don't you know," came a sudden voice from behind him.

Jotaro jumped, spilling a bit of piss by accident.

"Someone might think you're up to some mischief," said another.

Jotaro zipped himself up and turned around. Two grinning ginger youths were in front of him. They looked like someone…

"We're Fred and George," said Fred and George in unison.

"Weasley, that is," clarified George. He held out a hand to shake.

"Our little baby brother Ron has told us lots about you, JoJo," said Fred, stretching out his hand also.

"Good grief," said Jotaro, looking at his own sullied hand and the outstretched ones, before pushing past them to wash at the sink. Thankfully, despite being disused, water still trickled out.

"You know," said George. "Before the 18th century Hogwarts didn't even have bathrooms."

Jotaro properly sudded his hands as he ignored the identical twins, beginning to wash for the full twenty seconds.

"Before then wizards would just shit themselves on the spot," said Fred.

"And then vanish the evidence!" they both cried in unison, and then burst into laughter.

Jotaro flicked his hands dry and turned around. "Professor Flitwick hasn't taught us that one yet," he said.

"Sike!" shouted the twins.

"Back in our second year," said Fred.

"First term," clarified George.

"We did a spell to change every copy of A History Of Magic in the library to say that was true."

"And we did the same in Diagon Alley by accident."

"Now a lot of people seem to think that's actual history."

"But it's not."

"Or at least, we don't _think_ so."

"Dumbledore would know, but we have our doubts about his bowels anyway."

"Notorious IBS," they both tutted.

"So it's not true?" asked Jotaro. "What a waste of time."

He made to walk to the exit but Fred and George jumped in front of him.

"Before you go," they said.

"Just remember that if you ever need to find us, we're usually hanging out in here," said Fred.

"In a disused bathroom?" asked Jotaro.

"Perfectly situated…"

"…away from prying eyes."

"Right…" said Jotaro.

"And if you collect enough beans…"

"Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, of course, the genuine article…"

"Then we'll happily trade you for various tricks and jokes we've smuggled in over the years…"

"We have quite the stash…"

"Of perfectly legal tools of course…"

"Well, legal enough…"

"But naturally Filch The Caretaker has banned them all…"

"So use them at your own discretion."

"I'll remember that," nodded JoJo.

"We expect some big things from you, JoJo," said George.

"Take this for now," said Fred, pushing a small cardboard box into Jotaro's hands. "A Jokester Starter Set."

"Stink bombs, firecrackers, helium potions, it's all in there."

"It's how we got _our_ start."

"Just remember us if you come across any beans."

Jotaro tucked the box away, and sighed. "Right. Do either of you know the quickest way to get to the courtyard?"

"We know just the way," they both said, rubbing their hands together.

\---

The twins led Jotaro through winding pathways, many of them hidden behind tapestries and paintings, just before the doorway to where the flying lessons were about to take place. Then they parted ways.

The Weasley Twins' mastery of Hogwarts' hidden passageways was so good that somehow he managed to beat the rest of the Gryffindor students there, who turned up just after him -- Harry, Ron, Neville, Hermione, and the rest. And, just his luck, it seemed to be another lesson they would be sharing with Slytherin.

As they waited for their flying teacher, Madam Hooch, Draco Malfoy had a smug grin plastered all over his face. During all the other lessons they had shared his enthusiasm for flying was incessant, and laden with arrogance. As much as Jotaro hated to be around him during the lesson he had clearly been so looking forward to, he secretly hoped it would be a disaster for the pale child and he'd get to take delight in it.

It was obvious who in the group were from muggle families and who weren't just by looking at how nervous the prospect of flying on a broomstick was making them. Even ever-confident Hermione looked a bit out of it. But so did Neville, despite being from a wizarding family.

Noticing Jotaro's eyes on him Neville pulled out a glass orb from his pocket, which was glowing red.

"Of course, I'm terrible at flying," said Neville, "but this Rememberall my Nan sent me's been glowing all morning too. And I can't remember what I've forgotten."

"A Rememberall?" asked Jotaro.

"Yeah," chimed in Ron gleefully. "Rememberalls glow red when you've forgot something to remind you. What have you forgotten, Neville?"

"That's the thing," he said. "I know I've forgotten something, but the Rememberall doesn't help me remember what it was at all."

"Ah," said Harry. "That' doesn't sound that helpful in practice."

"It's not," groaned Neville. "What if it was important?"

Before the toad boy could ruminate further on his forgotten remembrance, Madam Hooch marched out of the castle.

"Students," she announced, "follow me to the broomsticks."

Without further ado they filed along behind her, approaching twenty or so broomsticks that lay on the ground.

"I heard from your brothers that the Hogwarts broomsticks are hard to control and fly all over the place," whispered Harry, nerves getting the better of him.

"Oh, don't listen to them," said Ron. "They're just pushing your buttons."

While Jotaro was sure Ron had more than enough experience dealing with the Weasley twins in his life so far, he also wouldn't have put it past them to have charmed the broomsticks for the first years to sow chaos in some way, given his interaction with the pair earlier.

"Right. Let's got on with it, then," said Madam Hooch. "Come on. Everyone next to a broomstick. We haven't got all day."

Using Star Platinum's powers of perception, Jotaro glanced over the brooms on display. All were pretty shabby. It didn't seem worth the effort to try to claim any one in particular, so the students filed next to any old one.

"Now," said Madam Hooch, facing them all. "Put your hand over the broomstick, and command it 'Up.'"

"Up!" everyone chimed. A few broomsticks leapt readily into some of the outstretched arms. Harry was among them, Jotaro noticed. But for him, the broomstick remained inert.

Just like him, Neville was having problems too, the broomstick quivering slightly on the ground just like the nervous boy was doing.

After a short while most of the students managed to eke some movement from the cleaning tools. Jotaro's still remained still. Nevertheless, Madam Hooch asked them to now mount the brooms, shoving them between their legs. He had no choice but to pick up the stationary broomstick and do so.

Now, she marched down the rows, correcting them on their grip. It almost seemed that she hadn't notice Jotaro's distinct inability to command the wooden pole he was holding in his hands.

"Okay," she said. "When I blow into this whistle here, push up from the ground."

She began to count down, but, nervous, Neville beat her to the punch. The broomstick, so timid before, now seemed to go wild beneath the poor boy's legs, shaking him back and forth in the air and then promptly bucking him off what must have been two or three stories above the ground.

He landed with a sickening crunch that made even Jotaro's stomach churn.

Madam Hooch murmured a curse word, and jogged on over. "Don't be scared," she said. "But your arm is effed up. I think I see some bone."

She turned to the group of shocked students, mouths agape at the barely supervised carnage. "Everyone stay here while I walk this toad boy to the infirmary. Don't worry, they'll patch him up quick."

Naturally, as soon as Madam Hooch had led the limping boy around the corner, the group dissolved into gossip, split between the Gryffindor and Slytherin groups. Jotaro stood with his hands in his pockets, lost in thought, as he let it wash over him.

"Look!" came a shrill and annoying voice. It was Malfoy, distracted from his badmouthing of Neville. "That bulbous boy dropped his ball!" The silver-haired snake ran over and plucked something out of the grass. Indeed, it was the red, pulsing Rememberall. "Guess he _forgot_ it," Malfoy quipped.

Harry stepped forward. "Give it to me, Malfoy," he commanded. "I'll give it back to him in the common room."

"I rather think he can collect it himself. Should I leave it on top of a tree? In a nest? Maybe I should put it on top of the clock tower. Then if he can ever get flying right, he can hop right up to grab it."

"Don't be a jerk," said Harry.

"Or what? You think you can take it? Just try." With that, he straddled his stick and was away into the air.

Jotaro couldn't help himself, he lunged forward and extended Star Platinum for his body, going for the Rememberall. But it was too late, Malfoy ascended, floating teasingly out of reach.

"I've got this," said Harry, grabbing his own broom and kicking off the ground for the first time. To Jotaro's surprise, Harry seemed to float perfectly on the broom, even though it was his first time.

Harry rocketed for Malfoy, but he got out of the way just in time. The two went back and forth in a game of cat and mouse as everyone else looked on.

But Jotaro wasn't going to let Harry fight Neville's corner alone. He was growing tired of Malfoy acting like he was better than everyone else.

"That's enough," he said, scooping up his broom and walking forward, below the two zooming around on their brooms.

He still couldn't feel any movement in the broom in his hands. But it did seem lightweight in his grip.

"ORA!" he grunted, Star Platinum phasing out of his body and unleashing a single mighty punch - right at the ground.

Like a flash, Jotaro was propelled into the air as grass and mud splattered across the courtyard.

Malfoy was momentarily stunned as the 195cm behemoth shot from ground to air, right at him. But right before Jotaro made impact he darted to the left. Then Harry made a dive at Malfoy, almost grabbing the Rememberall from his hands before the sly boy spun out of the way at the last second. But Malfoy was clearly on edge now.

At the height of his leap, Jotaro chucked the broom upwards, catching it with Star Platinum's right hand. Yes, just as he thought. In his Stand's grasp the broom could just about support them in a glide, slowly pulling them back down to Earth.

"Better hand it over, Malfoy," Jotaro spat.

"You can't even fly," said Malfoy. "I can just go higher." He did as he said. "See?"

"You're not the only one," said Jotaro. "Ora!" This time Star Platinum lashed out at the castle stonework, crunching into the solid surface and shattering brick, but launching him even further into the air, above the rooftops of the buildings surrounding the courtyard.

Malfoy wasn't expecting the leap, and momentarily lost control of the broom, spinning a little. Seizing his moment, Harry leaned forward, his broom accelerating, allowing him to pluck the ball from Malfoy's hands.

Enraged, Malfoy spun toward Harry, trying to snatch it back.

"Jotaro!" cried Harry.

He lobbed the red ball toward Jotaro, who was gliding just above a parapet.

Star Platinum let go of the broom, depositing Jotaro on the roof as the ball flew through the air.

Malfoy shot forward lunging for the ball as it freefalled towards Jotaro.

The broomstick plopped into Jotaro's hands, and he assumed a batter's pose. Winding up, he focused on the spinning ball, and Malfoy's reddening face behind it.

"Batter up," he said, swinging the broomstick in a smooth arch, wood smacking against ball, sending the struck object hurtling towards Malfoy.

The silver-haired child grinned, thinking the Rememberall was flying right back at him. He reached out with his body to stop the ball.

But suddenly, it exploded. It wasn't the Rememberall at all. It was a stink bomb. One of the ones the Weasley twins had gifted Jotaro.

"Think I'd just give it back to you?" said Jotaro over the sound of the boy's spluttering. "Before you knew what happened I caught the Rememberall with Star Platinum, before having my stand throw the stink bomb in the air right in front of me." He adjusted the brim of his hat. "And as soon as you were impacted with the bomb, I already threw a low-ball towards Harry."

Indeed, the glittering red ball was now making its way down toward the ground, and Harry was diving for it.

For an instant, Jotaro feared he had misjudged. It was a steep dive. But at the last second, Harry nabbed the ball.

"HARRY POTTER!" came a furious voice below Jotaro. It was Professor McGonagall. She seemed ready to give poor Harry a serious dressing down.

Just out of her sight, Jotaro hopped back down the ground level, hoping to remain unnoticed.

"My goodness," said the Scottish professor. "What is that dreadful stink?" Her gaze met Malfoy, who was exuding the foulest stench imaginable. "I think you had better make your way to your dormitory and get yourself cleaned up," she said. "And Potter," she continued, sternly, "you had better follow me at once."

She led Harry away, and Malfoy and his cronies skulked off without waiting for Madam Hooch to return.

They might have bested Malfoy this time, but something in that final dirty look he gave Jotaro made him realise he hadn't seen the last of that boy.

"Yare yare daze." It was no use worrying about it now, he'd just have to deal with it as it came. But little did he know, Draco Malfoy was about to cause him an even bigger hassle in no time at all.

\--- TO BE CONTINUED --->

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry updates take me a while. I wish I had more time to write fanfiction! Everything seems more draining at the moment in the pandemic, but I hope everyone is taking the time to find moments where the can relax and enjoy things like fanfiction. I know reading has been helping me feel as normal as I can a ton. Thanks to everyone who leaves kind comments, though. It's really motivating to hear what people think!


	5. MIDNIGHT DUEL UNDER THE SILVER MOON

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jotaro ends up joining Harry and Ron after they're challenged by Malfoy to a Midnight Duel, uncovering a strange castle secret in the process.

Jotaro's concern for Harry Potter had only grown the longer he was absent after being whisked away by the Gryffindor House Head. Naturally, the Slytherin lot had been stage-whispering that he was going to be expelled sent packing home. For some reason, the students of the snake house seemed to know an awful lot about Harry's home situation, and his foster family seemed to be particularly unpleasant and abusive, forcing him to live under the stairs.

It was almost enough to put him off his lunch: cheeseburgers shaped like onigiri rice balls. Ron and the others nearby had fallen into worry, theorising about what might happen, and complaining that while Professor Snape always seemed lenient on Slytherins the same could not be said of Professor McGonagall's strictness concerning her own house.

Just as Jotaro was seriously considering what he could do to help -- using Star Platinum to knock out Draco Malfoy, using Star Platinum to smash up Professor McGonagall's office, or using Star Platinum to throw Draco Malfoy onto the Great Hall's chandeliers -- his stand's affinity for perception clocked Harry meekly walking through the far door. As he drew closer, he seemed to have an odd grin on his face. Very curious for someone who had just received a dressing down.

Like rows of meerkats the heads of those from the house turned to watch him as he walked over to the group, before returning to their food. Harry took a seat next to Ron and brushed off the comments, saying everything was fine. Then, once the larger attention was diverted, he leaned in secretively to Ron and Jotaro.

"You'll never guess what," he began.

"What?" asked Ron, his mouth full of pie.

Jotaro nodded in agreement.

"Professor McGonagall has made me Seeker of the Gryffindor Quidditch team because she was so impressed with my flying." He scooped himself up some pie, pausing a second before adding himself an extra big portion, presumably in quiet celebration of his success.

"You're joking," said Ron, leaving his own pie untouched for a moment. "First years never get on the team."

"Oliver Wood said I'm the youngest in about a century," said Harry, expertly talking around the chunks of meat that filled his cheeks.

"Gosh," said Ron.

Jotaro grumbled. "If there's one teacher here I just don't get, it's that Professor McGonagall."

"She seemed pretty excited," said Harry.

Guess she does care, thought Jotaro.

"But," said Harry, his voice dropping low. "Keep it a secret please. I start on practice next week, and Wood wants to keep it on the down-low so it's a surprise for our first proper match."

"Secret?" came a voice.

"Did somebody say 'secret'?" came another different, though eerily similar voice.

Fred and George Weasley slipped out from beneath the table to seat themselves opposite the three boys.

Ron rolled his eyes as the twins deposited Bertie Bott's beans onto each others' plates. "Don't worry about them," he said. "They're on the team too."

"Yes we are," they said in unison.

"Beaters," said the one on the right… George?

"I bash 'em," said Fred.

"And I bosh 'em," said George.

"The bludgers we mean," they said.

"Nasty things."

"Big balls."

"Better watch out for them."

"But you'll see," George nodded.

"Right," said Harry.

"Ever since our older brother Charlie graduated, things haven't been going so well on the Gryffindor team," said Ron.

"He used to be captain before Oliver," said Fred.

"And a great Seeker to boot," said George.

"This year will be our year," said Fred. "Wood is pumped up."

"I'll do my best," said Harry.

"You'll do great," they said.

George looked at his wrist as if checking the time, but he wasn't wearing a watch. "We've got to go," he announced.

"Lee Jordan thinks he's found a new secret passageway that leads out of the school," said Fred. "He hasn't -- it's just a sewage outlet. Call us saints but we're going to try and stop him before he falls in. The stuff down there never gets out of these robes. Trust us." And with that, they slipped beneath the table again and disappeared.

"Harry Potter," announced another voice. It was just one thing after another. The boys turned to see Draco Malfoy, flanked by his two goons. "Packed already? When does your train back to Muggleville leave?"

"Thought I smelled a stink bomb," said Jotaro. Draco flinched.

"As you can see, I'm still happily a member of the student body," said Harry. "And you seem a lot more confident now you're actually on the ground."

Draco chuckled. "I could take you any time -- land, sea, or air. How about it? A Wizard Duel?" He glanced at Jotaro. "That's wands only, without contact. That includes whatever your little ghost thing is too. Real magic, you know. Or… could it be you don't even know what a Wizard's Duel is?"

"Duh, he knows what one is," said Ron. He eyed Jotaro quickly, realising that as strong as their 195cm muscle-bound friend was he was pretty useless at wand-based magic. "I'll - I'll be Harry's second," he said. "Jotaro will come along as a neutral party."

"Heh," said Malfoy. "Midnight then. Crabbe will be my second, and Goyle will be our neutral party. Shall we say the trophy room, lads? That's never locked."

"Okay," said Ron. Harry and Jotaro nodded.

The Slytherins skulked away.

"Er," said Harry. "So what did we agree to?"

"Never heard of a Wizard's Duel in my life," said Jotaro. "Sounds like a real hassle. What good's a fight if you can't punch?"

"Oh, it's simple stuff. Spell slinging, you know. But both you and Malfoy are only first years so most you'll be doing is throwing light shows at one another. Being a Second means I'm there to take over if you die but it's more of just a tradition thing you know."

"Well that's great," said Harry. "I don't really know any spells yet that would be good in that situation."

"Neither will Malfoy. Relax."

"What if he does?" said Harry.

"Wouldn't put it past that snake to do something dirty," tutted Jotaro.

"Well if something bad happens we can punch him anyway. Or better yet, Jotaro can."

"Good grief," moaned Jotaro. It was true that he'd love an excuse to sock Malfoy one, but this was shaping up to be a real hassle.

"Wow," came another voice, the third time they had been suddenly interrupted throughout lunch. This time they turned to see Hermione Granger stood in front of them, arms crossed, and not looking happy. Her eyes were directed squarely on Harry.

"I overheard that conversation just now," she said. "Going for midnight castle walkies is definitely against the school rules, and if you get caught the whole of Gryffindor will be in trouble when you lose us yet some more house points."

"I don't see how that's your business," snapped Harry, standing up.

"Unless you want to be his Second instead?" asked Ron.

Hermione rolled her eyes.

Yes, thought Jotaro, getting up to follow, and adjusting his cap as he did, this was going to be one big hassle, wasn't it?

\---

Jotaro arrived in the Gryffindor common room just before Ron and Harry emerged from their dorm. Ron was still going on at Harry about curse spells that sounded highly suspect, though Jotaro wasn't in any position to correct them.

"There you are," said Ron.

"Let's move," said Jotaro.

The three of them moved towards the backside of the dormitory's painting/door. A light flicked on.

"Um," said Hermione, cast into sight. "I thought I said it's against school rules to just go wandering. What would you brother Percy say?" she asked Ron -- his older brother was a prefect and, gathered Jotaro, a bit of a goody-two-shoes.

"Just ignore her," groaned Ron. He opened the door and they trudged out into the dark castle.

"Honestly," said Hermione, following them along. "You're all being very selfish. Don't you think the best way to get one over on Slytherin is to have enough points to win the House Cup, not allow them to win by losing all our own points?"

"I can't just let Malfoy run his mouth like that," said Harry.

"Oh fine," said Hermione. "But don't come crying to me when… when…"

It was unusual for Hermione to be lost for words, but the reason became apparent when Jotaro turned around. The painting doorway had closed behind them, and the Fat Lady was absent from the painting. Presumably, she was still spooked by what had happened with Jotaro and wasn't going to spend too much time in the painting off-hours.

"Stand back," said Jotaro, readying Star Platinum to punch his way through yet again."

"No!" squealed Hermione. "That would lose us more points too!"

Star Platinum phased back inside of Jotaro.

"But," she stuttered. "What am I going to do?"

Ron shrugged. "You won't let Jotaro let you back in, and you won't walk around the castle out of hours. Guess you're just stuck."

"That's just not fair," she huffed. "Look, I'll just come along with you."

"But that's against the rules," sighed Harry.

"Well we're locked out now, aren't we?" she said. "If anyone stops us I'll just explain--"

"All right, fine," snapped Ron.

"Whazzat?" came another voice. Ron, Hermione, and Harry jumped; Jotaro curled his fists. Was that Filch already? His cat, Mrs. Norris?

A sniffling boy in pajamas picked himself off the floor and stepped into view. It was Neville.

"Oh it's you lot," he said. "Are you able to let me back into the dorm? I forgot the password so I was just sleeping out here instead."

"No," said Ron, pinching his nose. "The Fat Lady's not in the painting anymore."

"Oh," said Neville.

"We're off somewhere so just wait and see if she come's back okay? If she does the password is 'trans right are human rights', okay?"

"Trans right /are/ human rights," reiterated Jotaro.

"Wait! Don't leave me again!" cried Neville.

"Will ya keep it down?" snapped Jotaro, walking right in front of Neville and gripping him by the shoulder. "Way I see it is you've got two choices. Keep waiting out here, or come along." He looked over their assembled party. "We've got a big group as is which makes us much easier to spot. We're not meant to be out here. So if you're coming along, keep it down."

Everyone nodded. Nobody wanted to get on his bad side.

"Okay then," sighed Jotaro. "Let's get going." He walked in front of the group leading the way, pulling his cap down. "Yare yare daze," he groaned.

"Um," said Hermione again. "That's the wrong way to the Trophy Room."

Damn, realised Jotaro, she was right.

\---

About half an hour later they somehow managed to make their way to the Trophy Room without incident. For whatever reason it seemed the moving staircases moved a lot less this late at night, and the one or two times they did Hermione managed to put them on the right track. Ironically, without her coming along, they might have been late to the so-called Midnight Duel.

As it stood, they walked into the room a few minutes early, the silvery moonlight reaching in through the windows to gleam off the rows of trophies -- statues, cups, shields, and smiley face stickers glinted in the ethereal light.

Jotaro leant against the far wall with his arms crossed as Ron and Harry looked over their wands, making small last minute adjustments to their grips and pick-ups, tightening here and there. Neville and Hermione crossed their arms for warmth, looking skittsh, clearly wanting to be anywhere but here.

"Maybe Malfoy's not going to show?" suggested Hermione after they'd been waiting for about ten minutes past midnight.

Ron frowned. "You just want to get back."

"I don't want to wait around to God-Knows-When-O-Clock just because that slimy little boy told you to," said Hermione.

Jotaro couldn't help but agreeing. "If he doesn't show and you did then you come out on top."

"Just give it a little longer," said Harry.

Neville said nothing at all.

After a few more minutes there was a noise from the next room over. It was a door opening and the sound of footsteps. Malfoy?

"That's right, Mrs. Norris, have a sniff around and weed out those delinquents. They could be hiding anywhere."

No, it was Filch.

"That asshole set us up," cursed Jotaro.

Filch wasn't moving fast. They could hear him patrolling nearby, pulling boxes aside. But they didn't have long.

Jotaro nodded towards the door they had entered and the group moved towards it, trying to be as quiet as possible. Once they were all through they heard the other door open, and Filch begin his search around the trophy room proper.

If Filch had ended up coming in from this side instead, they would have all been finished.

"Hiding are they?" the voice crooned. "You'll find where they went won't you, my sweet?"

"Let's get out of here this way," mouthed Harry.

"Perhaps they're trying to sneak away…" Filch's voice echoed.

The group turned a corner to find themselves in a hallway lined with suits of armour.

They heard Filch continuing his search in their direction, but didn't want to rush in case the noise made him come running.

"When I find them it might be time to break out the ol' oil and chains," said Filch.

At this Neville's eyes widened and he broke out into a run. Immediately he collided into Ron, who grunted, and the two began to fall towards one of the suits of armour. Seeing this, Jotaro called on Star Platinum to reach out to try to grab them, but he was just short on time. Instead, Star Platinum's hand overshot as the armour tumbled, smacking into the armour and crumpling it loudly, the mutliple pieces clattering on the ground.

"There they are," called Filch. "They always try to run. I might be old, but we love a chase don't we, Mrs. Norris!"

"Run!" shouted Harry, putting on a bad Northern accent to throw Filch off any chance of figuring out who he was by his voice.

Everyone, even Neville and Hermione, broke into a run, following Harry who was in the lead. He ducked down every corner possible to try to break any chance of Filch getting a line of sight on them, a tactic he had learnt from playing Counter Strike on Dudley's computer whenever the family left him home alone. He had an impressive kill/death ratio average.

"There's a secret passageway over here," hissed Ron, gesturing at a tapestry. No doubt his twin brothers had clued him into it. They all jumped through, stumbling over each other in the dark, falling head over heel and crashing out of a knight's crest that swung open at the end, depositing them a floor or two down.

Having put some serious distance between them and Filch, they stopped to catch their breath for a second.

"Hate to say I told you so, but I told you so," said Hermione. "Malfoy set you up so you'd get in even more trouble. Do any of you even have a brain?"

"The question is," said Jotaro. "Do we head back to Gryffindor Tower, or the Slytherin Dorm so I can give Malfoy a beating immediately?"

"We're better off laying low," said Harry. "I think we should be able to get back this way."

At that second, Peeves wandered through a wall. Seeing the group of dishevelled students a ghoulish grin spread across the spectre's face. "Oh, what do we have here? Students out of bed at this time of night? Why, you could all get into serious trouble if you were found."

Peeves' eyes locked on Jotaro.

"Oh, it's you. The big boy who can't hurt me."

"Shut your mouth," said Jotaro. "Ora!" Star Platinum leapt out of Jotaro into a swift uppercut, but he just passed through the creature.

"STUDENTS OUT PAST CURFEW!" screeched Peeves. "NAUGHTY BOYS AND GIRLS CAUSING TROUBLE!"

A door somewhere close clattered open.

"Let's get out of here!" called Harry and they dashed away again, Peeves cackling behind them.

Only one door led away, and by the way Harry was pulling at it, it was knocked.

"I'll smash it open," said Jotaro.

"Oh you brutes," tutted Hermione. "Here." She pointed her wand at the lock and muttered something under her breath.

It clicked open and they all piled through, closing the door quietly behind them and trying to listen to what was going on.

"Peeves," came Filch's voice. "Where are these students then?"

"Been on the hunt for them have you?" asked Peeves.

"Yes, where'd they go?"

"I'm no snitch, go do your job yourself!" shouted Peeves, blowing a raspberry. His cackles resounded into the distance as he flew away.

Neville was groaning, scared of what was going on.

"That damned ghoul," muttered Filch. "Thrown us right off the scent hasn't he, my sweet? Nowhere to go down there. They must have been on the other floor after all."

"See, Neville? He thinks this door is locked so we couldn't have gone this way," said Ron.

They heard a rattling of keys as Filch walked away.

Neville tugged on Jotaro's arm."

"He's walking away," said Jotaro. "We're safe."

"Saaafffffffeeeeee…..?" whimpered Neville.

Jotaro turned around to look at the boy, but then he saw what was behind them all. The only thing besides them in the large, stone room was a sleeping dog. A massive sleeping dog. With three heads. And teeth that looked razor sharp through which they expelled a smelly, thick breath.

One of the six eyelids flicked open. A soft beat resonated softly throughout the room, accompanied by some sort of speech.

The other eyes opened, and the dog began to stand up on all fours, dwarfing the children.

That beat and voice… "hoolet, hoolet, hoolet".

A growl began to rumble from the dog's thorat.

"Hooletha, hooletha, hooletha."

Now it was stood up, Jotaro noticed the strange trap door beneath it. Presumably this was a guard dog protecting whatever lay beneath the heavy duty entryway.

The dog bore all of its teeth in all three of its mouth and lowered its legs ready to pounce.

"Who let the dogs out, who let the dogs out, who let the dogs out, who let the dogs out."

What was that sound?

Drool dripped down its fangs.

"Get behind me," snapped Jotaro. Star Platinum slipped out of his body, standing in front of him.

"Get the door open!" called Ron.

This was the first time Jotaro had felt outmatched since he became aware of his Stand. This strange multi-headed dog was huge.

But the other kids were so scared that they were shaking trying to get the doors open behind them.

Just like that, the dog leapt forward, its left head snapping forwards at them.

"ORA!" Star Platinum punched the dog square on the nose and it reeled back. But only that head seemed to be affected. The other two sniffed at him, licking their lips.

They shot forward. Star Platinum grabbed the bottom of their jaws and pushed them down, but it was almost too much.

Jotaro felt like his own arms were going to pop out of their sockets.

The other head recovered, and was about to jump into the fray. Star Platinum suddenly let one of the jaws go, snapping up too hard into its owner's face. Then, he let go of the other, bopping it in the cheek with a hard punch that barely seemed to affect the mad, rabid face.

It was strong, and there was no way he could take it out while also trying to protect the rest of the group of scared children behind him. Hell, he was even getting a bit scared himself.

Jotaro heard the door creak open and the others begin to fall out of the room.

The left head snapped at him once again. Jotaro leapt into the air and aimed another punch. "Ora!" He allowed the impact to propel him backwards and fall through the door too.

As he did, Ron and Harry closed the door behind him, and Hermione quickly used her wand to relock it.

Everyone stood panting. Jotaro allowed Star Platinum to shift back inside his body.

"Yare yare daze," said Jotaro, wiping sweat from his brow. What the Hell was such a dangerous creature doing in a random room in a school?

"What was that all about?" gasped Ron.

"The trapdoor," said Hermione. "Seems like it was guarding something."

"In a school?" asked Jotaro.

"There's no point in staying here any longer," said Harry. Let's find out way back to the dorm.

And they did, thankfully finding their way back to hallways they recognised before too long. Filch must have been checking another wing by that point, because their return journey was fairly uneventful. The Fat Lady was even back at her post by the time they returned. She raised an eyebrow at the time.

"Trans rights are human rights," said Jotaro.

The Fat Lady nodded and let them in.

Everyone was so exhausted they immediately went to bed, but it took a little while before Jotaro could drift off. Just what was so important in this school that a dog like that was needed to guard it?

\--- TO BE CONTINUED --->


End file.
